Shippers are offering sailors up to $25,000 per trip to conduct dangerous shuttle runs moving oil out of the Persian Gulf amid heightened Iranian threats. The cost of these VLCC voyages has surged to $30–$40 million round trip, or $15–$20 per barrel excluding insurance, as producers deem it economically preferable to leaving oil stranded. Despite attacks—seven ships hit since Sept. 28—demand for shuttle runs has grown, with the core fleet increasing from 30 to 39 vessels since August.
Sailors from India, the Philippines, and China are being lured with payouts two to three times their typical monthly salary. One Shandong-based staffing company offers $25,000 per round trip for oilers and ordinary seamen on VLCCs entering the Gulf on a rolling basis. Shipowners are seeing returns rarely seen in decades, with daily supertanker hire costs to China now exceeding $1.2 million, up from $231,400 before the war and under $40,000 in early January.
The trend expanded after drone attacks shut Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, prompting Aramco and regional peers to adopt shuttle tankers. Marisks founder Dimitris Maniatis and E. A.
Gibson’s Richard Matthews confirm the market is generating extraordinary revenues for shipowners, making the sailor bonuses negligible in comparison.
Fuente: Wall Street Journal US Business · Resumido por HeadlinesBriefing